Acute Care - When to Use it and Top Remedies Needed This Summer
Homeopathic care for acute complaints can be straight forward and beneficial. In this article, you’ll find the top acute remedies I’m seeing needed this summer to keep the fun rolling!
Acute ailments are generally understood to have a rapid onset, be of limited duration, and be due to infection or injury. Examples include an injury from water-skiing, coming down with the flu, sun rash, too much excitement, or overindulgence in “treat” food; in these cases a good acute remedy might be the best bet for you. Just be sure it’s truly acute - if you are experiencing hot flashes, warts, or an allergic outbreak, the incidence of the symptom might be short lived and have a sudden onset but, since the incidence is part of a reoccurring pattern, it’s part of a chronic picture and will best be treated with constitutional remedies and a trained homeopath.
Here are the top summertime remedies I see and their indications for acute support:
Injury
Arnica montana - injury, shock, or overworked muscles. Took a fall off a bike? Went hiking for too long? Made from the plant Leopard’s Bane, Arnica is an amazing remedy for injury involving soft tissue, especially when there’s a sensation of being bruised, beat up, or sore. A person needing Arnica will typically not want to be touched or will be worse from touch.
Ruta - strains, sprains, and sore joints that are better with rest. Ruta is the go-to for summer strains, sprains, and sore joints that feel worse with use and better with rest. Reach for it when tendons feel bruised, overworked, or when recovery stalls after a fall or repetitive movement.
Rhus tox - any injury that is better with warmth and gentle motion. Back injury, strain from over use, sprains, whiplash, or anything else that feels stiff to begin with, then improves with movement, think of Rhus tox.
Illness
Bryonia - injury or flu that is worse with movement. Bryonia is all about being worse with movement so, whether from the flu and finding it difficult to move, feeling a headache when you move your eyes, or an ankle sprain/strain that only hurts when you try to walk, Bryonia is indicated. The pain may feel better with pressure (like holding the injured joint or lying on the injured part). A person that benefits from Bryonia is typically irritable!
COVID+Influenzinum nosode - flu symptoms where the lungs and mucus membranes are involved. Homeopaths get sick too and this is one I used this summer when COVID hit my house. It was a game changer. I used it when other well-indicated remedies weren’t helping much and, within 20 minutes, I noticed a slight zing of improved energy that marked the turning point in my recovery.
Gelsemium - colds and flus with dizziness, drowsiness, and heaviness. Gelsemium, a flowering vine that grows in the southern US, is a go-to remedy for any form of acute illness characterized by weakness, exhaustion, and a need to lay down. Other keynotes include a headache at the back of the head decribed as dull with a heavy ache. This is a great remedy for a summer flu.
Skin
Calendula - cuts, scrapes, 1st and 2nd degree sunburn. Whether from skinned knees or a sunburn, reach for Calendula for healing and speedy growth of skin. It’s especially helpful when it feels like the pain is excessive and out of proportion to the injury. Calendula remedy can be applied locally as a paste or taken orally.
Ledum - puncture wounds of all kinds. Bee stings, dog bites, and embedded ticks are all puncture wounds and may benefit from Ledum. If the source of the acute discomfort started with a puncture, try Ledum. It is especially indicated if the site of the puncture feels cold. This is an important remedy for embedded tick bites; remove the tick, send it to a lab to be tested, take Ledum 200c, and be sure to reach out for additional medical support.
Rhus tox - poison ivy. Helps when skin breaks out in itchy, red, blistering rashes—especially from poison ivy, wet grass, or getting chilled while sweaty. It’s a fit when the itching is worse at night and scratching makes it sting or spread.
Apis - red, painful, swollen skin. Apis is for skin that’s red, swollen, hot, and stings whether from bee stings, hives, or allergic swelling. The skin can itch but the key is swelling and heat. It’s a match when the child wants cold things on it and can’t tolerate heat or touch. Check out this post for a story about 27 bee stings and Apis to the rescue.
Urtica urens - itching and burning. Urtica urens helps when the skin itches, burns, or tingles. Think heat rash, nettles, or mild hives. Appearance wise, skin will look pale or blotchy with red, small raised hives that can look like mosquito bites or small raised spots like heat rash.
Overheating
Belladonna - when too much sun and heat makes the child red-faced, hot, and flushed. There may be a headache from sun exposure, skin will feel hot to touch, eyes glassy, with sensitivity to light or sound. Belladonna is often an intense remedy, so if you see heat and there’s an intensity to the child, think Belladonna.
Carbo vegetabilis - when too much sun makes the child hot, wiped out, and bloated. After a long day in the sun or heat, child feels weak, gassy, or faint. The child may want cool air and to rest, seeming pale and low-energy-ish. GI symptoms of bloating and gassy can tip the scales towards this remedy.
Gelsemium - when too much sun makes the child feel heavy, droopy, and slow. If the child becomes quiet, sluggish, and tired after sun or excitement, with sensation of being heavy-lidded, trembling, and mentally dulled, that’s Gelsemium.
Pulsatilla - when too much sun and heat makes the child clingy. For kids that become weepy, whiny, and needy, especially in hot weather. They will crave affection, nearness, want to be given attention, desire fresh air, and may have mild tummy upset.
Note about heat ailments: homeopathy can be a safe and effective support for mild heat-related issues like sunburn, heat rash, or early signs of heat exhaustion, especially when symptoms are manageable, responsive, and the child is alert and hydrated. Remedies like Belladonna, Carbo veg, and Gelsemium can gently support recovery when given early. When to seek medical care: If symptoms worsen quickly, involve confusion, fainting, rapid breathing, a high fever that won’t come down, or signs of dehydration (no tears, dry mouth, no urine), seek immediate professional medical attention. Give a dose of the best indicated remedy above in 30c potency every 15 minutes until you receive medical attention.
Overdoing things
Nux vomica - “too much”. This can be for kids who get cranky, wired, or overwhelmed due to “too much” - too much sun, sugar, junk food, or excitement. It’s a fit when there’s irritability with tummy aches, constipation, or trouble settling down after overstimulating days. It’s also a great remedy for adults that over-do. Too much work, too much happy hour, etc. Nux vomica is a great remedy for modern day life. It is especially indicated when there’s the sensation of “ineffectual urges” such as feeling like you need to have a bowel movement and can’t, or need to fully urinate and can’t.
Dosing
I typically recommend starting with a 30c potency of the best indicated remedy. 30C is safe and gentle for kids and adults and can be repeated if needed. Give 1 dose (usually 2 pellets) under the tongue. Wait and watch - don’t repeat unless there’s little to no improvement or symptoms improve then return. If symptoms are intense or not shifting, you can give another dose after 15-30 minutes. For milder or improving symptoms, wait 1-3 hours or longer before re-dosing. Stop when there’s clear improvement - when the body is showing it’s responding, wait for another cue from the body that it needs more. Less is more with homeopathy.
There are many homeopathic remedies that may be better indicated for your specific situation, please reach out today for support with an acute symptom or illness.
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*Please note this content is NOT medical advice and Sue McKinley Homeopathy is not a medical doctor or clinic. The suggestions here are based on homeopathic practice, not accepted medical evidence. Homeopathy and holistic care are NOT a replacement for medical care, when needed.